Meet Lt. Zariel Sindile, temporarily assigned to Voyager for its rescue mission in the Badlands. Now she's stuck in the Delta Quadrant, her children are at home without her, she has no one to depend on, and her darkest secret is about to be laid ba...
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Stardate 54982.7
Starfleet had planned a welcome-home dinner for Voyager at Starfleet Headquarters, for the crew of the "miracle ship" to greet their families, and the crew had been asked not to leave the ship or have guests aboard until that time. Despite the delay this caused, it had been generally agreed that everyone needed the time to adjust. The Starfleet brass had spoken to the crew's relatives to invite them to the banquet, but with the exception of Starfleet brass and addressing medical needs, none of the crew had seen their families yet.
On the night of the banquet, Zariel found herself unable to leave quite yet. She stood outside the door of Xeno, her hands full of things, and took a deep breath, then took the last step that would cause the door to whoosh open and admit her. She walked in and looked around, letting the memories flood in. There was her station, where she'd had actual printed photos of her boys on the panel, changing them out as they sent her new ones in the data stream from Earth. Her chair, which had always squeaked a bit when turning clockwise. The console between her station and T'Lin's, which had been glitchy ever since the Hirogen had torn up the ship for their holo-scenario. The corner where Naomi Wildman kept a pillow to sit on and read while waiting for Samantha to come off duty. Her first command. Her best friends. Even her own quarters weren't as much the heart of this ship to her as Xeno was.
She turned as the door swished open again, and Samantha and Wally walked in. They also seemed to be on their way to the banquet, carrying suitcases and presents. The three of them looked at each other silently, then Sam said wistfully, "Can you remember what color Naomi's reading pillow was? I can't remember if it was blue or green."
"It was blue, remember? She was so proud that it was the same color as Flotter." Wally said, grinning.
"Oh yeah." Samantha walked over to her own station and let her hand trail idly over the darkened panels.
Wally turned in several circles in the middle of the room. "Do you remember sleeping in here when the ship was all torn up?" They both smiled. "Zariel would curl her undersized self up in a ball completely under her station. And T'Lin snored. I mean, who knew Vulcans snore?"
Samantha said, "And Naomi thought it was this grand camp-out adventure."
Zariel challenged that. "Oh you did too, Sam. You put on like you were all miserable and missing your nice soft bed, but you were havin' fun too."
Wally slapped both hands to his forehead, and Samantha mock-wailed, "Why did the universe curse me with an empath for a friend? Nobody's thoughts are safe!"
Zariel said, "What are you complainin' about? I'm the one who's gotta mute you. Hey, do y'all know if T'Lin beamed down to the banquet already? I knew she wouldn't be in here moonin' like us, but I haven't seen her at all today."
"Ah ah ah, " said Wally, wagging a finger. "Wait for it..."
He cocked the finger at the door as it swooshed again, and framed T'Lin. She entered, her eyes going to her station next to Zariel's, and then to her colleagues. Wally folded his arms. "No, wait, don't tell me. You came to make sure the data banks had been powered down? Or that the cross-references to lingusitics were complete?"
Zariel and Samantha grinned; this was a familiar game of Wally's, grown out of T'Lin's initial Vulcan reluctance to admit that she'd ever go anywhere just to be with her friends. T'Lin's next line was something as far-fetched as she could invent, rendered believable only by her level manner. Instead, she raised an eyebrow at Wally and said, "I came to see this room one final time, just as you did." She slowly cast her eyes around the room, and then said, "I am gratified that you are all here."
They slowly drifted to their accustomed places around the center console. Zariel released her mental shield to share in her friends' emotions. Wally and Samantha were blinding music and deafening colors, a jumble of trepidation, joy, sadness, anticipation. T'Lin was a blush of color and a whisper of sound, the same feelings in orderly progression. They stood there for a while, just together. There didn't seem to be anything to be said. There didn't seem to be anything that needed to be said.
The door whished open, and Naomi barreled in, hollering. "Mom, I still can't get Seven to say whether she's going to the banquet or not."
Samantha blinked, seemed to reorient, murmured, "Well, you won't get her there by driving her crazy about it."
Naomi continued into the room. "Oh, good, everyone's here. Look, I made us these." She held up four devices that seemed to strap on the wrist. "See, we each take one and all go and see our families, and when we're ready for everyone else to meet them, we each tap this button. It lights up the light on the others, and when all four of the lights light up, then we all meet somewhere."
"Naomi..."
"No, she's right," Zariel said. She put down some of her stuff and reached to take one of the devices from Naomi. "In fact, that's pretty much genius, sugar."
"Thanks, Aunt Zariel." Naomi held the other two out to Wally and T'Lin. "Will you do it too? Please?"
